Welcome to the Inside the Gators Roundtable. Of course the question on every one's mind this time of the year is the upcoming spring practices.
Join Landon Watnick and Mark Wheeler for this no holds barred discussion of the Gators football squad.
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* Roundtable: Predicting the breakout players
* Spring Positional Preview: Offensive Line
* Roundtable: Starting Quarterback & Sink or Swim
* All 10 of our Class of 2017 Signing Class Reviews
* Anonymous Player: Looking at those who have left
* Anonymous Player: Tidbits on the 2016 signees
* Anonymous Player: Breaking down the offense, playcalling
* Anonymous Player: Taking a closer look at the quarterbacks
* Anonymous Player: Florida football behind the scenes
* TOTAL ACCESS: 30 DAY FREE TRIAL
* Redshirt Report: Brett Heggie
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Which early enrollee do you expect to make the biggest impact this spring?
Watnick: I expect Kyree Campbell to see a good number of reps this spring, just due to the sheer lack of depth at defensive tackle in Florida’s four-man front. Khairi Clark and Taven Bryan will likely earn the first-team reps, but after those two the depth this spring won’t be plentiful.
Luke Ancrum hasn’t made much noise in two seasons as a Gator, it remains to be seen how Jachai Polite will fare primarily at defensive tackle, and the CeCe Jefferson-at-defensive tackle experiment doesn’t look like it’s going to continue.
Enter Campbell, a former four-star recruit who went the prep school route when he couldn’t qualify at North Carolina in 2016. Landing an older, talented option at defensive tackle who would enroll early in Campbell was a key addition by the Gators this past cycle. At 6-foot-3, 323 pounds, Campbell enters the mix with good size and a chance to make an impact in the interior.
Before Tedarrell Slaton and Elijah Conliffe arrive this spring, Campbell will get his shot at earning immediate playing time in 2017.
Wheeler: Unlike last year when Florida welcomed 12 early enrollees, there isn't as much to choose from this time around with only five signees arriving in time for spring ball. With James Houston still recovering from knee surgery, that leaves four signees available.
Of those four signees it is tight end Kemore Gamble who has the most established players ahead of him on the depth chart heading into Tuesday's first practice. However, Florida does utilize a lot of two tight end sets and the two returning co-starters – Deandre Goolsby and C'Yontai Lewis- are hardly world beaters.
In Gamble you have a freshmen who not only is already approaching 250-pounds, but also has better hands and is more athletic than the holdovers.
If he is able to pick up the playbook quickly, he is going to be a factor in this offense, perhaps even as soon as the Orange & Blue Debut.
Which position group do you expect to make the biggest strides this spring?
Watnick: With new offensive line coach Brad Davis stepping in, I believe he inherits a group that in year three will finally make the type of progress we’ve all been waiting to see.
Despite losing left tackle David Sharpe to the NFL Draft and Cameron Dillard to transfer, Florida returns the majority of its offensive line in 2017 and is much, much better off at that position currently than what was the case two years ago in Jim McElwain’s first spring.
The Gators return six key contributors from last year’s rotation, including Martez Ivey, Jawaan Taylor, Fred Johnson, Tyler Jordan, T.J. McCoy and Kavaris Harkless. That’s not even including Antonio Riles, a past contributor along the offensive line who suffered a torn ACL last fall camp.
Brett Heggie, who redshirted this past season, has been getting rave reviews and could be a player who steps into the rotation in 2017 at either center or guard. Offensive tackle Kadeem Telfort, a Rivals2500 talent from the 2017 class and an early enrollee, is another intriguing option.
Basically, every offensive lineman besides four-star signee T.J. Moore who will be on the roster in 2017 will be in Gainesville for spring practices. Nick Buchanan, Brandon Sandifer, Stone Forsythe and Andrew Mike will all compete for opportunities this offseason – and who knows, maybe at least one of those players could fill out the rotation this upcoming season.
Many of Florida’s contributors along the offensive line now have two years of valuable experience playing in the SEC. That should go a long way in year three of the McElwain era.
Wheeler: It has to be quarterback. Right? If for no other reason than the numbers game.
Last spring Feleipe Franks and Kyle Trask were part of a quartet at the position – sharing snaps with Luke Del Rio and Austin Appleby.
With the two freshmen taking a backseat as Del Rio and Appleby fought it out for the starting position over the spring, summer and fall camp, even under the best of practice circumstances their repetitions were limited.
That is no longer the case.
Even though early enrollee Kadarius Toney is listed as a quarterback and will take snaps at the position, it is the two returnees who will see a bulk of the time under center.
Getting so many more reps and so much more one-on-one time with quarterbacks coach Doug Nussmeier should in itself lead to increased development of the two.
Now, whether or not the strides the duo actually make will be sufficient enough to bring stability to the position has yet to be determined.
However, without question the two will be better than they were last spring.
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